PHOENIX — The Arizona Supreme Court has delivered a landmark decision in giving the go-ahead to enforce a long-dormant law that bans nearly all abortions, drastically altering the legal landscape within the state around terminating pregnancies.

The law predating Arizona’s statehood provides no exceptions for rape or incest and allows abortions only if the mother’s life is in jeopardy. Arizona’s highest court suggested doctors can be prosecuted under the 1864 law, though the opinion written by the court’s majority didn’t explicitly say that.

The Tuesday decision threw out an earlier lower-court decision that concluded doctors couldn’t be charged for performing abortions in the first 15 weeks of pregnancy.

The law was enacted decades before Arizona became a state on Feb. 14, 1912. A court in Tucson had blocked its enforcement shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court issued its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision guaranteeing the constitutional right to an abortion.

After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe decision in June 2022, then-Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, a Republican, successfully requested that a state judge lift an injunction that blocked enforcement of the 1864 ban.

The state Court of Appeals suspended the law as Brnovich’s Democratic successor, Attorney General Kris Mayes, urged the state’s high court to uphold the appellate court’s decision.

The law orders prosecution for “a person who provides, supplies or administers to a pregnant woman, or procures such woman to take any medicine, drugs or substance, or uses or employs any instrument or other means whatever, with intent thereby to procure the miscarriage of such woman, unless it is necessary to save her life.”

The Arizona Supreme Court suggested in its ruling Tuesday that physicians can be prosecuted, though justices didn’t say that outright.

“In light of this Opinion, physicians are now on notice that all abortions, except those necessary to save a woman’s life, are illegal” the ruling said. The justices noted additional criminal and regulatory sanctions may apply to abortions performed after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

The law carries a sentence of two to five years in prison upon conviction. Lawyers for Planned Parenthood Arizona said they believe criminal penalties will apply only to doctors.

The high court said enforcement won’t begin for at least two weeks. However, plaintiffs say it could be up to two months, based on an agreement in a related case to delay enforcement if the justices upheld the pre-statehood ban.

The ruling puts the issue of abortion access front and center in a battleground state for the 2024 presidential election and partisan control of the U.S. Senate.

Democrats immediately pounced on the ruling, blaming former President Donald Trump for the loss of abortion access after the U.S. Supreme Court ended the national right to abortion.

President Joe Biden and his allies are emphasizing efforts to restore abortion rights, while Trump has avoided endorsing a national abortion ban and warned that the issue could lead to Republican losses. The decision will give Arizona the strictest abortion law of the top-tier battleground states.

Staunch Trump ally and abortion opponent Kari Lake is challenging Democratic U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego in an Arizona race for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Kyrsten Sinema, who isn’t seeking a second term.

Under a near-total ban, the number of abortions in Arizona is expected to drop drastically from about 1,100 monthly, as estimated by a survey for the Society of Family Planning.

This past summer, abortion rights advocates began a push to ask Arizona voters to create a constitutional right to abortion. If proponents collect enough signatures, Arizona would become the latest state to put the question of reproductive rights directly before voters.

The proposed constitutional amendment would guarantee abortion rights until a fetus could survive outside the womb, typically around 24 weeks. It also would allow later abortions to save the mother’s life, or to protect her physical or mental health.

___

Lee reported from Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Related Articles

Arizona can enforce an 1864 law criminalizing nearly all abortions, court says

5 takeaways from the abortion pill case before the U.S. Supreme Court

Supreme Court seems likely to preserve access to the abortion medication mifepristone

Supreme Court’s anti-abortion conservatives could restrict abortion pills sent by mail, even in blue states

Mifepristone access is coming before the US Supreme Court. How safe is this abortion pill?

For the first time, researchers have analyzed the DNA of rusty patched bumble bees across the insect’s range. The results add urgency to efforts to conserve the endangered species.

Using a non-lethal technique, scientists collected tiny leg sections from bees to determine their genetic makeup. They found low genetic diversity, and inbreeding.

“The numbers of colonies that those individuals represent are much lower than expected,” said lead author John Mola from Colorado State University. “Even in areas like the Upper Midwest, where the rusty patched bumblebee, at least insofar as insects can become famous, has become a little bit emblematic as a stronghold, this species is still at risk.”

The rusty patched bumble bee was once common from Minnesota to the northeastern U.S. and in the Appalachian Mountains.

Starting about 25 years ago, the bumble bee experienced a precipitous 90% population decline.

It was listed as endangered in 2017. In 2019, the rusty patched bumble bee was named the Minnesota state bee.

One of the remaining known populations is found around the Twin Cities.

University of Minnesota researcher Elaine Evans has been observing rusty patched bumble bees for 20 years.

This DNA analysis reinforced her concern that just adding more habitat might not be enough to save the species.

“As bee conservationists, we all just want to think about the bees out there living their best lives out in the wild, having enough habitat out there to do what they need to do,” Evans said. “But the reality of the situation might be they might get to a point where to keep the species going, they might need to be brought inside by people and captively raised.”

The study found genetic differences among isolated populations. The Appalachian bees are different genetically from Midwest bees, and the Minnesota bees had genetic variations from other Midwest bees.

Mola said that means conservation efforts should not mix genetically distinct populations.

The finding of low colony numbers also has implications for management decisions. Burning habitat produces better food for bees in the long term.

“What are the short-term consequences for that?” Molna asked. “Do we run a large risk of killing colonies when we burn? And if so, how do we find that balance between the long-term benefits of burning versus that short-term risk of mortality?”

That’s just one of the questions raised by this study that needs more research. But now bee conservationists have the baseline data to begin developing the strategy to save the endangered bee.

Related Articles

MN Department of Public Safety names director of Murdered and Missing Black Women and Girls Office

Former Minnesota Sen. Calvin Larson dies at 93

Mercury emissions from cremation rise in Minnesota

3 months after launch, sales of Minnesota blackout plates near 50,000

Total solar eclipse wows North America

The Timberwolves didn’t necessarily stumble out of the gates Tuesday. It was more like they sat at the start line for quite some time after the ball was tipped.

Minnesota was asleep at the wheel for the first quarter — perhaps its worst frame of the season — falling behind hapless Wizards by as many as 21 points Wednesday.

The Wolves trailed by 10 at the break. Then water returned to its level.

Minnesota cranked up the intensity in the third quarter and didn’t look back. Anthony Edwards led the charge, finishing with a career-high 51 points as the Wolves downed Washington 130-121 at Target Center.

The unfortunate part for Minnesota was that its haphazard start meant it had to play so much meaningful basketball down to the bitter end. Edwards and Rudy Gobert each played 38 minutes. That’s not ideal when the Wolves play in Denver on Wednesday in the game that will likely determine who gets the No. 1 seed in the West playoffs.

Denver did also play on Tuesday in Utah. So both squads will play in the game of the regular season on zero days rest.

Edwards’ performance Tuesday was a continuation of his recent efforts to play hard against cellar dwellers — something he failed to do in the past.

“Usually these games I come out and don’t have no energy and look like I don’t want to be here, and Finchy been gettin on my (butt) about that the last couple games,” Edwards said after a recent win over Toronto. “So I tried to come out with the approach that I would take as if we was playing a team that was super good. I think it was a great way of handling business tonight.”

Edwards was aggressive from the opening tip Tuesday. Even as Washington waltzed to whatever shot attempt it wanted early, draining one triple after another as the Wolves lacked any defensive intensity, Edwards was making a point to generate offense on the other end.

He captained the third quarter explosion, netting 17 points in the frame. Then, down the stretch in the fourth, Edwards smelled his personal record. He attacked Washington’s defense with hyper-aggression. His previous career high was 49 points, and he’d attempted to push for 50, often to only be denied by circumstance and some suspect shot selection.

To the guard’s credit, he decided to get to 50 Tuesday by attacking the rim. Sitting at 47, Edwards did pull up for one long three that clanked off the iron. The next three possessions, he went to the rack.

When Edwards finally converted a layup to get to 51 with two minutes to play, the 22-year-old guard held up a “50” with five fingers on one hand and a closed fist on the other as the crowd greeted him with a standing ovation.

But there’s little time to celebrate. Minnesota may need an equally strong performance Wednesday to all-but lock up the No. 1 seed. Edwards was asked on the floor after the game if the team would be ready.

“Hell yeah,” he said.